:::[Official] San Francisco 49ers 2024 Offseason Thread [NFC CHAMPIONS]:::

[bentrill]

welcome to the squad, ward will start on the bench and learn.

 

[red80]

brock, cully and ward are all 4.3-4.4 guys. a lot of speed in that secondary now.

 

[ady2glude707]

Looks like Niners want to keep all their 2nd and 3rd rounds picks, the rounds where a lot of experts say the real value is at

 

[hyper cutter]

Damn. Only red80 could be right, then wrong 49 times, but still actually have been right all along.

#basedRED

 

[red80]

Damn. Only red80 could be right, then wrong 49 times, but still actually have been right all along.

#basedRED

 

[MON5T3R]

welcome to the squad, ward will start on the bench and learn.

Yea and get his weight up. Bethea will be a good mentor for him.

 

[ady2glude707]

Tomorrow will be very interesting with 5 picks and ammo from later rounds to trade up

 

[bentrill]

49ers should trade up for tuit

Also i hope Red80 wr gets picked by us. Have a young boldin ready to take over.

 

[basick]

I loved the pick by our Niners. Look at Ward. That's the kind of guy we need.

 

[cato312]

“@TaylorPrice49: Harbaugh said Ward can play in the box, blitz, play as a deep safety and cover the slot

 

[red80]

that's what i liked about ward. he can do EVERYTHING and do everything good. he flies around the football field with speed, making fundamental plays with sick instincts(first step). straight up ballhawk and a straight up football player.

 

[lb510]

Wanted KB. If we were going to go secondary why not just trade up and get a "true" corner? Oh well.

 

[bentrill]

Shout out donte whitner for wlcoming ward even though he doesnt play here. Since Red80 put me on ward from that one mock he did i became a fan. People are saying he is a reach but who knows what coulda happen. Glad he is on the 49ers

 

[wooster]

 
that's what i liked about ward. he can do EVERYTHING and do everything good. he flies around the football field with speed, making plays with sick instincts(first step). straight up ballhawk and a straight up football player.

Why wasn't he regarded as one of the better secondary players?  Is it his small frame/risk of injury?

 

[red80]

 
Why wasn't he regarded as one of the better secondary players?  Is it his small frame/risk of injury?

well before the combine he was rated as high as the best strong safety in the draft. but yeah his measurables, missing combine and his conference took points away closer draft got.  i really got into him after seeing him at the senior bowl. i was like "oh damn this kid is a stud!"

 

[red80]

here's a little more on jimmie ward for those of you who are curious

 
Ball skills

Ward covers a ton of ground in the secondary and is constantly breaking up passes. He's a physical and aggressive player in coverage, which makes it tough for teams to complete passes on him. Ward also has long arms that help him get a hand on passes. His compact frame is an asset when he goes up to try and make plays on the football. Ward has solid hands and body control as well.

Coverage ability

If there were any questions about Ward's coverage ability, he answered them at the Senior Bowl, where he reportedly dominated in the one-on-one drills. He has fluid hips in coverage and a ton of short area quickness, making him tough to get separation against. Ward is the type of safety who can line up over a receiver in man coverage and he's physical enough to cover tight ends. The only thing holding him back is a slight lack of size that may make covering tight ends a challenge, but he's certainly willing to take on physical receivers.

Instincts/recognition

The most impressive aspect of Ward's game is his ability to anticipate plays and diagnose what the offense is doing on the fly. He always seems to be a step ahead of the rest of the players on the field. It helps that Ward closes on the football in a hurry. That's a combination of his quickness and his recognition skills. He's also consistently taking proper angles to the football.

Run support

There are times when Ward jumps off the screen, almost literally. He is an aggressive run defender and shows no regard for his body when he's making tackles. For a smaller player, Ward induces some huge collision. That aggressiveness can lead to some missed tackles, but that's more of a technique thing than anything else. He doesn't always wrap up, preferring to leave his feet and try to destroy his opponent. Still, with his speed and recognition ability, Ward is an asset in run defense. Smaller safeties aren't always as physical or willing to stick their nose in the mix when defending the run, but that's the least of Ward's problems.

Final Word

Most of the concerns with Ward's game are minor. He's not the ideal size to play safety, and his straight line speed isn't incredible and he could do a bit better job of tackling at times. Despite his flaws, Ward has the skills to be an impact player in the secondary. He's laterally explosive and has the ability to diagnose plays. So many of the instinctual elements to safety come through in Ward's game consistently. He should be a late first-round pick.

i love how he flies around the field. he has some earl thomas to his game and earl thomas is probably my favorite non 49er player. that's why i chose him in my mock couple months back.

 

[wooster]

There seems to be a disconnect there for him to be rated that highly and then have analysts say they had him pegged in the 2nd or even the 3rd round.  

Regardless, I hope he can put on some weight (weights 193 and Earl Thomas is just over 200), be durable, and be able to play against big WRs who seem to always give us problems.  

P.S. Have a rep for all that you contribute to this thread.

 

[ady2glude707]

Obviously the Niners drafted him because he could see the future

 

[red80]

Depending on who you ask, the 49ers are likely to address depth at the safety position at some point in the first three rounds.  Heck, with six picks spanning that period, Trent Baalke could call it a day after round three and come away with quite a stash of young talent that either fills a void or adds depth. One prospect that could do both is safety Jimmie Ward  from Northern Illinois.

The Basics:

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 193lbs
Arm Length: 31"
Hands: 9 3/8"
Bench: 9
40 yard dash: 4.47*
Broad Jump: 10'5"*
Shuttle: 4.24*
3-cone drill: 6.89*

Pros:

• One of the better instinctual DBs in the draft. Reads the flow of the play well and locates ball carrier quickly while exploding to the lane. Weather it's filling the run lane or tipping the ball away from a receiver, Ward seems to always be around the ball.
• Very technically sound. Being smaller, Ward has clearly spent time refining his technique in just about every phase of the game from locating and deflecting the ball to tackling.
• Versatility. Ward can play both safety positions and even corner having lined up as NIU's nickel corner in 3WR looks.

Cons:

• Size is a concern when facing bigger receivers or tight ends.
• Strength. Ward finished second to last in the bench during February's combine. While it's not the biggest concern for DBs Ward may struggle to match physicality of some big bodied playmakers.
• One of the bigger questions marks is his ability to play in the box in the NFL. He was successful at NIU but his small stature and lack of strength may prevent him from shedding blocks at or near the line of scrimmage.

 

[cato312]

View media item 961954
This pic was taken a month ago..he knew...

 

[red80]

tomorrow is round 2 and 3 and we have 5 ******* PICKS.

players to keep an eye on:

stephon tuitt DE

trent murphy OLB

weston richburg C

CJ Fiedorowicz TE

bashaud breeland CB

bruce ellington WR

jarvis landry WR

 

 

[nothingtol0se]

for WRs, i like latimer, moncrief and martavis bryant tomorrow.
would be down with tuitt and murphy as well.

CBs, i'm liking McGill, SJB, dontae johnson (tall cbs ) and marcus roberson LATE would be awesome!

 

[sylvestermcgrizzly]

Players im gonna keep an eye on

Secondary....Mitchell, McGill, Brooks, and a sleeper in Phillip Gaines.

LB...Christian Jones, Powell, Skov, Bullough

DL...Lawrence, Lynch, Uko, Reid

TE...Grimble, Arthur Lynch, and a possible flyer on Lyerla if he's around in the 7th

RB...Terrance West, White

 

[49ersaaron8]

Love ward was clamoring for him in the 2nd but honestly I feel like him and Lamarcus Joyner are neck and neck and Joyner could
Have been had with our first 2nd. But ward is a lot like Kenny Vaccarro of last year just versatile and when the balls in the air he becomes the fastest guy on the field.

A bit of a reach but not mad at all.

 

[red80]

Hell yeah. A bunch of us on here liked Jimmie ward, but didn't expect him to be a 1st but rather a 2nd. I guess when you're picking as late as the niners are it basically is a 2nd. I love how the niners don't give a **** how the media and analyst have players ranked and literally go after players that improve our team. Ward is gonna be a stud.


Jimmie ward ran a 4.47 40 with a broke foot lol so you know dude got wheels if he can do that